Star Trek Victory: Episode 2 - Endeavouring Power
by Blooded
Summary: Sent on a classified mission into Romulan Space, Captain West and Lieutenant Sennik must infiltrate a Romulan Warship to collect data that would link the Romulans to the Klingon Rebels...


Star Trek Victory - Endeavouring Power  
  
AFTER UNCOVERING THE SECRET THAT THE KLINGON EMPIRE WAS INVOLVED IN A CIVIL WAR, THE USS VICTORY SET COURSE FOR KRONOS TO REVEAL TO THE KLINGON HIGH COUNCIL THAT IT WAS THE ROMULANS WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPLYING THE KLINGON REBELS WITH ADVANCED WEAPONS. CAPTAIN WEST WAS ABLE TO KILL THE LEADER OF THE KLINGON REBELS AND INFORM THE KLINGON HIGH COUNCIL OF THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE ROMULANS IN THEIR CIVIL WAR. FOR THE NEXT 2 WEEKS THE ROMULANS DENIED ANY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR AND ALSO DENIED HAVING ANY INVOLVEMENT ON THE ATTACKS ON FEDERATION OUTPOST'S. THE ROMULANS, STILL DENYING ANY INVOLVEMENT, ACCUSED THE KLINGON EMPIRE OF ATTEMPTING TO PIT THE FEDERATION AND ROMULAN EMPIRE AGAINST EACHOTHER - THIS HAS LEAD TO THE ROMULAN EMPIRE ATTACKING KLINGON BORDERS, AND CHANCELLOR MARTOK ORDERING THE DESTRUCTION OF ANY ROMULAN SHIP THAT IS ENCOUNTERED BY ANY KLINGON VESSEL.  
  
"Your father is Perah Maros? Wow, that must be pretty darn cool Commander." Lieutenant Brian Nolan said to Commander Maros while sipping from his glass of water. Nolan and Maros were sitting at a table in the Mess Hall on VICTORY with Lieutenant Drew Arentzen and Lieutenant Commander Sennik - a Vulcan female.  
  
"I wouldn't exactly call it cool Lieutenant." Maros replied, taking a bite out of his bagel afterwards.  
  
It had been almost three weeks since VICTORY had returned to Earth from Kronos - most of which Hern Maros had spent onboard VICTORY overseeing the repairs of the ship.  
  
Nolan shook his head. "We are talking about the same Perah Maros aren't we? The Bajoran? One of the most respected peacekeepers in the Federation? What wouldn't be cool about that? He could, shall we say, help you along in your career and help you get positions on the best starships in Starfleet"  
  
"And also expect his son to live up to his expectations and become a well renowned officer in Starfleet." Sennik cut in.  
  
Maros did not say anything. He just took another bite from his bagel. He knew the Vulcan was right though. Maros had lived in his fathers shadow ever since he was a child, even more so when he enrolled in Starfleet Academy.  
  
"Oh, I never thought about it that way." Brian Nolan said, wishing he ended the conversation after his Commander had said that it wasn't cool. He decided the best course of action would be to change the subject. He turned to face Lieutenant Arentzen. "What about your parents Lieutenant? What do they do for a living?"  
  
"My parents were killed 17 years ago. I would prefer not to talk about it if that's ok with you Lieutenant." The helm officer of the USS VICTORY replied, hoping not to have to talk about his parents again.  
  
You've really put your foot in it now Brian. "No worry Lieutenant, if you don't want to talk about it that's fine by me." Did that come out right? Nolan asked himself. He really hoped he hadn't sounded nasty with his comments because he meant what he said with remorse. "So, um, Commander.when is the Captain due back onboard?"  
  
Maros picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth - removing only the few crumbs that remained of his bagel. "He is currently at Starfleet Headquarters. I believe he is in a meeting with Admiral Macovchy, I expect him to return by 0700 hours tomorrow with our new orders."  
  
"What orders do you think Starfleet will give us?" Nolan asked the Bajoran Commander.  
  
"I haven't the slightest idea what Starfleet will ask us to do now, but I would expect it to be a simple routine mission. After all, I can't imagine they would order us to either of the neutral zones considering the fighting going on between the Klingons and the Romulans."  
  
Maros got up from his chair and nodded to his fellow officers. He then made his way out of the Mess Hall. An engineering report awaited him in his quarters, and he wanted to have it sorted by the time the Captain got back to the ship.  
  
**********  
  
Captain Tom West stood at a window overlooking the rest of Starfleet Headquarters. It was a beautiful sight, more so in the daytime but it was still looked beautiful in the night, which it was now.  
  
"Tom, you know about the fights between Klingon ships and the Romulans don't you?" Admiral Macovchy said, sitting in a chair at his desk.  
  
Tom turned to face the Admiral. "I know that the Klingons are seeking revenge on the Romulans for supplying the Klingon rebels with weapons and new ship designs." He walked over to the chair opposite the Admirals.  
  
"Well, of course the Romulans have denied all those allegations. I know that Starfleet believes you when you say the Romulans gave assistance to the Klingon rebels but are you sure that they did give assistance? There is the possibility that the Alpha Quadrant will be thrown into another war if it is proved that the Romulans were helping the rebels overthrow the Klingon High Council. I need your honest answer on this Captain, did the Romulans give weapons to the Klingon rebels?"  
  
"Admiral, I have had Admirals asking for the honest truth on this matter for the last two and a half weeks. A Klingon gave me his word that it was the Romulans, and I honestly believe him. And this isn't because he probably saved my life by helping me escape from Kartolk's ship, I believe him because he has honour and lying would not be honourable Sir." Tom was becoming a bit agitated with having to answer the same questions over and over again, but he knew why he kept being asked. Millions of lives depended on him being one hundred percent certain that the Romulans were helping the Klingon rebels. And there was also one question that not even he had the answer to. Why would the Romulans ask the Klingons to attack Federation Outposts as payment? It made no sense.  
  
"Well, I have no doubt that you are right Captain. I was ordered to ask you one last time before I was to give you your orders." Macovchy told his friend.  
  
Tom sat forward in his chair at the word of orders. "New orders sir?"  
  
"Yes Tom. Starfleet has given you new orders." Macovchy sat forward and lifted up a small pad from his desk. "All of your orders are on this. You are to leave Earth's orbit at 0400 hours." He passed the pad to Tom. Tom quickly looked over his orders and straightaway looked up at the Admiral.  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
**********  
  
Maros had had so much work to do over the last two and a half weeks and only now did he have the chance to get a full night sleep. He had finished looking over the Engineering report and had decided to go to bed straightaway. Of course, he should have known that he was not going to get that night sleep.  
  
His communicator beeped. Maros slowly came to consciousness. His communicator beeped again. He grabbed his communicator from the table beside his bed and tapped it.  
  
"Maros here." He replied, his voice very croaky.  
  
Lieutenant Arentzen's voice replied. "Sorry to interrupt your sleep Commander but the Captain has just arrived back on the ship. He wants all senior crewmembers to meet him in the Conference Room in thirty minutes."  
  
Maros was still half asleep. "Um, Yes Lieutenant. I'll be there once I have cleaned up." He tapped his communicator and put it back on his table. "The one night I actually have a chance to sleep." Maros threw his head back onto his pillow.  
  
**********  
  
Maros sat at the large circular table that was placed in the centre of the Conference Room. He still wasn't totally awake, even the sonic shower hadn't helped. As Captain West stood by his own chair waiting for Lieutenant Farnworth to arrive, Hern wiped his eyes again.  
  
Lieutenant Farnworth walked into the room and took his chair. "Sorry I was late Captain but we had a wee problem with the air circulation on Deck 12.  
  
Tom leaned against his own chair. "Don't worry Lieutenant, we don't want there to be anything wrong with the ships systems when we get going on our new mission."  
  
"What exactly is our new mission, Sir?" Lieutenant Arentzen asked, cutting in.  
  
Tom picked up the pad that sat on the table by his chair. "Starfleet want us to go to the Romulan neutral zone. When there we are to secretly enter Romulan Space and where we are to meet with a Klingon vessel, which is cloaked near the Neutral Zone. I am not at liberty to discuss any further orders at this time." Tom quickly scanned the pad he had in his hand to make sure he hadn't missed anything out.  
  
He hadn't.  
  
He placed the pad back down on the conference table. He looked up at his senior officers. "Any questions?"  
  
Everyone looked around, expecting someone to ask the first question. Drew Arentzen decided to break the silence.  
  
"When are we to leave orbit of Earth, Sir?" The helmsman asked his Captain.  
  
"Admiral Macovchy wants us to leave orbit of Earth at 0400 hours."  
  
"Sir, I think I should tell you that the new Quantum Slipstream Drive has not been tested over long distances. I can't guarantee that it will last for the whole duration of our mission." Said the Scottish Chief Engineer of the USS VICTORY.  
  
"Well then you should get down to engineering and make sure that it will last the whole duration of our mission then shouldn't you Lieutenant?" Tom said to his Chief Engineer.  
  
Farnworth got up from his chair. "Aye Captain, I'll get down there right away." And then he left the room.  
  
Tom stood up straight and looked at the officers in the room. "Any more questions?"  
  
No one said anything.  
  
"Then back to work officers. We leave in three hours.  
  
Everyone left the room except Lieutenant Commander Sennik.  
  
Tom sat in his chair and then looked up at his Science Officer. "Problem Lieutenant?" The Captain asked.  
  
"Do I need remind you that if the Romulans spot us in the Neutral Zone or even in their own space, they will see our trespassing as a declaration of war."  
  
"No Sennik, you don't have to remind me." Tom spun his chair to face the only window in the room. He looked out at the image of the planet Earth. It was the most beautiful planet he had ever seen, despite being in Starfleet for over 15 years. "But Starfleet have given us our orders and this is a mission that we must undertake. If not us, they would just get another ship to do it. They see us as the best option Sennik and we need to find out what the Romulans true involvement with Kartolk was." He turned back to the Vulcan. "If you want no part in this mission I can have you transported to Earth and have a new science officer brought onboard."  
  
The Vulcan women stood straight with her hands behind her back. "Captain, I will go on any mission that Starfleet assigns us. I thought that I should remind you about our treaty with the Romulans to make sure that you don't let your personal feelings about Kartolk and his allies take precedence over your duty as a Starfleet captain."  
  
Tom got up from his chair. "Personal feelings? Sennik, I killed Kartolk, I have no personal interest in this mission."  
  
The Vulcan turned to face the Human. "Captain, I saw what Kartolk did to you. I saw how he tortured you and the pain you felt. I could sense the hatred that you had for him and whoever helped him. The mind meld showed me this."  
  
Tom walked around the table up to his Lieutenant. "The mind meld? How could a mind meld show you that? You don't know what I went through on that ship!"  
  
"On the contrary Captain, the mind meld is very powerful. Only a mind meld between two Vulcan's is more powerful than a mind meld with a human. I saw everything, from your childhood all the way to Granolk helping you escape Kartolk's warship.  
  
"Everything? You saw my whole life Sennik, but you didn't feel anything. It was all just images to you." Tom now stood face to face with the Vulcan.  
  
"Captain West, I did feel everything that you have felt through your life." Sennik replied, disappointed that she had revealed that secret to a human.  
  
Tom took a step back from Sennik. He was generally surprised. "How? Vulcan' do not have feelings, so how can you feel another persons feelings, their pain?"  
  
For the first time that Tom could remember, the Vulcan looked down at the floor. He had never seen a Vulcan do that. You could call it an act of an emotion.  
  
"That was my first mind meld with a human. Vulcan's are supposed to undergo meditation training for mind melds with non-Vulcan's. The meditation is supposed to help Vulcan's ability to suppress the emotions of mind melds with non-humans. It is to help us not feel what the other person in the mind meld feels.their pain, their joy, their bliss. I never had that training."  
  
Their bliss? Tom was a bit embarrassed at those two words Sennik had just spoken. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that. But perhaps you have let those emotions go to your head Sennik, because I have no personal feelings towards this mission."  
  
"Yes Captain." The Vulcan made her way towards the doors to exit the conference room.  
  
Tom turned to face her quickly. "Sennik, if you would like me to have you taken back to Vulcan I will arrange it right this minute. We could have a Vulcan ship here for you within the next hour."  
  
"No Sir. I am perfectly fine onboard VICTORY."  
  
Tom nodded at the Vulcan and then she exited the room. Tom was a bit surprised about how she had opened herself to him. That just wasn't what Vulcan's did. Why had Commander Maros not told him that that was Sennik's first mind meld with a Human?  
  
Tom cleared his head and sat back in his chair at the head of the conference table. He turned it to face the window again.  
  
**********  
  
Dr Kirsten Nolan quickly went through her list of medical supplies. She wanted to make sure that the ship had enough medical equipment for their next mission.  
  
Lieutenant Brian Nolan walked into Sickbay. He quickly looked around the room to locate his wife. He spotted her sitting at the table in her office. He walked into the small office.  
  
"How many times have you looked over that medical supplies list Kirsten?" The Chief Tactical officer of the USS VICTORY asked his wife.  
  
She looked up at him and gave him a welcoming smile. "Oh I don't know, maybe ten or fifteen times."  
  
Brian walked over to the table and sat up on the edge of it. "You should really stop worrying about this mission, from what the Captain told us I wouldn't expect there to be many casualties on this mission. So just relax Kirsten."  
  
She got up from her chair and made her way up to one of the beds and started checking the terminal above it, making sure there were no malfunctions. "Relax? We are going to be infiltrating Romulan space Brian. There are going to be casualties whether you think so or not. You don't think there will be any casualties but how many times have you checked to make sure the ships weapons are operating fully?"  
  
Brain grinned at her; she had got him there. "Well, a lot more than fifteen times. Don't you think Tom sounded a bit harsh in the conference room?"  
  
Kirsten turned to face him. She looked him in the eyes curiously. "What do you mean?"  
  
Brian broke eye contact with her. "To Lieutenant Farnworth, Tom sounded a bit patronizing towards him. Didn't you notice?"  
  
Kirsten walked past Brian and checked a terminal above another bed. "The Captain was probably just thinking about the crews safety. He isn't going to want our best means of escape to break down on us right when we need it is he?"  
  
Brian looked at the figure of his wife. "I suppose your right. Anyway, I had better get back to the Bridge," he made his way to the door, and turned back to his wife just before he left the room, "and check the weapons again." Kirsten smiled at him and then he left Sickbay. She then walked over to another bed and checked the terminal above it.  
  
**********  
  
"Sir, thirty minutes until we are to leave Earth's orbit." Lieutenant Arentzen called to Commander Hern Maros.  
  
Hern sat back in his chair. Maros tapped his comm-badge. "Maros to Captain West."  
  
"West here." The voice of the Captain replied.  
  
"Captain, we will be leaving orbit of Earth in thirty minutes. I think you should be up on the Bridge when we leave." Hern said.  
  
"Of course. I will be up once I finish my meal."  
  
"Yes Captain. Maros out." Hern turned to face Lieutenant Nolan, who was at his station situated behind the command chairs. "Nolan, weapons?"  
  
Brian replied without even to looking at the Bajoran. "Just finishing my final check, Sir. Everything seems to be in order."  
  
"Seems?" The Commander asked.  
  
Brian didn't reply for a moment. He then looked down to Commander Maros. "Okay, final check completed and all weapons and shields are in perfect working order."  
  
Hern smiled at the Human. "That's what I like to hear Lieutenant." Hern sat back I his chair and then tapped his comm-badge again. "Maros to Lieutenant Sennik."  
  
After a moment the Vulcan replied. "Yes Commander?"  
  
"You are required on the Bridge." Hern told her.  
  
"Yes Commander, I shall be there immediately."  
  
"Good, Commander Maros out." Maros looked out of the viewscreen and admired the image of the planet Earth. He had to be honest; the Humans home world was beautiful from space but not as beautiful as his home world; Bajor.  
  
**********  
  
Tom stepped out of the turbo-lift out onto the Bridge. He noticed everyone at his or her stations. He walked around the tactical station and then sat in his chair next to Commander Maros'.  
  
"Just on time Captain." Maros said, grinning at his commanding officer.  
  
"It had been a long time since I had had a chance to sit down and eat a meal in silence, I wasn't going to rush my meal just to get up on the Bridge early. Are we ready?" Tom asked the Commander.  
  
"Yes Captain, we're ready." Tom turned to his helmsman a bit surprised to hear him cut in the conversation.  
  
"Very well, leave orbit of Earth Lieutenant and set course for the Romulan Neutral Zone." Tom ordered Lieutenant Arentzen.  
  
Drew Arentzen looked down at his console for a few seconds and then looked up at the view screen. "We have left Earths orbit Sir and a course for the Romulan Neutral Zone has been set."  
  
Tom nodded to his helmsman. "Engage Quantum Slipstream Drive."  
  
**********  
  
Two hours had passed since Tom had given the order to engage the Quantum Slipstream Drive. For those two hours he had just watched the blue slipstream sail past, through the view screen. He had thought over his conversation with Sennik earlier in the day and all the Conversations he had had with Starfleet Admirals over the last two and a half weeks. It had been a long two and a half weeks for Tom; telling different Admirals the same thing. But at least all that was over now. Now he could get back to what he does best; commanding star ships. He heard a yawn come from beside him. He turned to see Commander Maros covering his mouth.  
  
"Not enough sleep Commander?" Tom asked him.  
  
"No, Sir. I was hoping to catch up with my sleep tonight but obviously I cant now."  
  
"You'll get used to no sleep after a while. Part of the job I'm afraid."  
  
"Yes Sir." Hern replied.  
  
Drew Arentzen turned to face the two highest-ranking officers on VICTORY. "Sirs, we are now entering the neutral zone."  
  
"Stay on course Lieutenant. How long until we enter Romulan Space." Tom said to the helmsman.  
  
Arentzen nodded and then turned back to his console. "Captain, we will enter Romulan Space in 8 minutes."  
  
"Thank you Lieutenant." Tom walked over to the console that Arentzen sat at and then entered some co-ordinates into it. "As soon as we enter Romulan Space go to these co-ordinates. As soon as we arrive there inform me. I shall be in my Ready Room." Tom turned away and walked through the doors at the left of the Bridge into his Ready Room. Hern Maros followed him.  
  
**********  
  
Tom walked over to his desk and sat in his chair. He turned his computer to face him and was about to enter something into it when Commander Maros entered the room.  
  
"Captain, what exactly are we doing here?" Hern asked his Captain.  
  
Tom looked back to his computer. "I am not at liberty to discuss that with you at this present time Commander."  
  
Hern slammed his hand down on Tom West's desk. "Take your damn secrecy and bury it, Sir. I am your Commander and I deserve to know why we are entering Romulan Space. Why have Starfleet sent us here?"  
  
Tom got up from his chair and walked over to his second in command. He looked the Bajoran in the eyes. "Like I said Commander, I am not at liberty to reveal that information."  
  
The Bajoran looked back into his Captain's eyes. "And like I said Captain, take your damn secrecy and bury it."  
  
Captain West and Commander Maros stayed silent; they just kept staring in each other's eyes. Tom was surprised that his second in command did not blink. Must be that Bajoran toughness.  
  
"Captain, if you keep this to yourself people are going to die. Tell me what we are doing here!" The Bajoran did not regret the way he had just raised his voice at his Captain, after all, his Captain was not listening to reason. "Captain, I can respect that you are keeping under orders and staying silent on your orders, but I am your second in command. I deserve to be told our full mission here."  
  
Tom broke the stare. He walked over to his desk and spun his computer around for Maros to see. "These are my orders. I'll be on the Bridge." Tom stormed out of his Ready Room.  
  
Maros stood still in the Ready Room. He had actually won an argument with his Captain. Maros was really shocked. Usually Captain West was stubborn and would not take into his head what he tried to tell him. But for once he had but Maros knew that he was in for a bollocking from the Captain after this mission was over.  
  
Hern looked down at the computer and read the orders. That's if we actually survive the mission.  
  
**********  
  
"Approaching the co-ordinates you gave me Captain." Arentzen called out to Tom West.  
  
Hern walked out of the Ready Room and out onto the Bridge. He took his chair. "Are they serious?" Hern asked his Captain.  
  
Tom nodded, "Yes, they are very serious." Tom then looked over to Sennik, showing that he no longer wanted to talk about this on the Bridge. "Sennik, are you detecting a Klingon vessel?"  
  
The Vulcan looked over to Captain West. "No Captain, I am not detecting any Klingon vessel."  
  
"It could be cloaked." Lieutenant Nolan suggested.  
  
"They were told to de-cloak when we arrived. Your sure that you don't detect anything?" Tom asked his Science officer again.  
  
"No Captain. According to sensors there is no Klingon vessel in this area. We should relocate before we are discovered by Romulan ships."  
  
Tom bit his lip. "No, we are going to wait here for a little longer."  
  
Sennik nodded and carried on scanning for a Klingon vessel.  
  
Maros leaned over to Tom. "Captain, Sennik has a point. If we are discovered by a Romulan warship there will be no Starfleet ship left here for a Klingon vessel to reveal itself to."  
  
"I am well aware of that Commander but it is very important that we find that vessel." Tom looked back to Sennik.  
  
"I am detecting a ship approaching Sir. Its Klingon." Sennik replied to West.  
  
"Why aren't they cloaked?" Lieutenant Nolan asked Sennik.  
  
"They appear to be slightly damaged. It is plausible that their cloaking device has been damaged and no longer functions." Sennik said to the Tactical officer.  
  
Tom turned to the view screen. "Hail them." The screen flickered to life, showing the revealing a familiar face to Tom. "Granolk, I wasn't aware that you were in command of this vessel."  
  
The Klingon grinned with that ugly grin that Klingons had. "Martok did not want anyone knowing who was in command of the Klingon ships we have in Romulan Space. It is nice to see you and your ship again."  
  
Tom replied with a small smile. "You have the codes and the ship?" Tom said, getting straight to the point.  
  
"Yes, we will send them to your vessel immediately." Granolk turned and spoke in Klingon to someone off screen. Tom waited patiently for the Klingon to turn back to him. "We have sent you all the data we have. You will find the schematics there as well."  
  
"Thank you. Your debt has been repaid." Tom said to the Klingon.  
  
The Klingon shook his head. "No Captain, our debt shall never be repaid."  
  
Tom nodded to the Klingon and then signalled for Sennik to end the conversation. The view screen flickered and then all that could be seen was Granolk's ship turning and then going to warp.  
  
"Lieutenant Arentzen, you have the Bridge. Commander Maros, Lieutenants Sennik and Nolan, meet me in the Conference Room immediately. Sennik, send all the date Granolk gave us directly to the Conference Room." Tom stood up and made his way to the turbo-lift. When he was inside it he turned to face the Bridge. "Conference Room." And then the doors closed and the turbo-lift took Tom West to the deck that the Conference Room was on.  
  
**********  
  
Captain West, Commander Maros, Lieutenant Nolan and Lieutenant Sennik sat around the conference table. They sat there silently for a few moments. Sennik and Nolan wanting to know why they were summoned to the Conference Room, and Maros hoping that Tom West wasn't going to go ahead with the mission which Maros had seen orders for on the computer in the Captain's Ready Room.  
  
Tom got up from his chair and walked over to the computer terminal that sat on the wall behind Maros' and Nolan's chairs. He tapped a few things on the screen and then turned to face the other three officers.  
  
"I expect that you are wondering why I have summoned you here and not the whole senior crew. Well this is a classified mission and so you three officers are the only officers that I can reveal this part of the Mission to." Tom pointed to certain numbers on the screen. These are the shield modulations to a certain Romulan ship. The ship belongs to a Romulan who we believe was involved in supplying the Klingon rebels with all their weapons."  
  
Nolan raised his hand signalling to West that he had a question. Tom looked at him. "I am thinking that those are the codes that you were talking to Granolk about right? Well if this Romulan you are referring to was involved in supplying the Klingon rebels with weaponry why haven't the Klingons taken out this ship themselves?"  
  
"All in good time Nolan." Tom turned back to the terminal. He tapped it once to reveal schematics of a ship. "This ship belongs to the Romulan that I was just referring to. Granolk has given us the propulsion signature of the ship and Lieutenant Arentzen is currently scanning nearby systems for the vessel."  
  
"So are we just going to blow it up?" Nolan asked.  
  
"No, we have been given very strict orders by Starfleet. We are not going to blow up that ship. We are going to infiltrate it."  
  
**********  
  
Nolan, Maros, Sennik, and West exited the turbo-lift and took their places on the Bridge. West sat in his chair. "Lieutenant Arentzen, you said you detected the ship I asked you to scan for?"  
  
Arentzen nodded at the Captain. "Yes Captain."  
  
"Has it detected us?" Maros asked Sennik.  
  
"No Commander. It has not detected us."  
  
Tom got up from his chair and walked over to Arentzen's station. "Sennik, you have the Romulan ships sensor range?"  
  
Sennik nodded to Tom.  
  
"Give Lieutenant Arentzen co-ordinates that take us just into their sensor range."  
  
Arentzen looked up at the Captain. "Sir?"  
  
Tom walked back to his chair but didn't sit down. "Just do it Lieutenant." Arentzen tapped co-ordinates into his console and then sat straight.  
  
"Standing-by for your final order Sir." The helmsman said to his Captain.  
  
Tom walked turned to face Sennik. "Sennik, gear up. Maros, you are in command." Tom and Sennik got into the turbo-lift and then the doors closed.  
  
Maros sat back in his chair. He and had been infuriated when Captain West had told him in the conference room that only himself and Sennik were going to be infiltrating the Romulan ship. He had argued the point and Lieutenant Nolan had backed him up at one point but Captain West had stood firm; only he and Sennik were going to be leaving VICTORY.  
  
"Commander, shall I take us into sensor range of that ship now?" Arentzen asked the Bajoran, who was now in command of the vessel.  
  
Maros wished that there was some other way, but there wasn't. The Captain's plan was the best way to do it but Maros just hoped that it wouldn't be the last plan that Tom West would ever conceive for a mission.  
  
"Yes Lieutenant, take us into range." Maros replied.  
  
**********  
  
Ensign Harris, who was standing in for Lieutenant Sennik called for Maros' attention. "Sir, the Romulan ship is approaching at warp."  
  
"Thank you Ensign." Maros turned back to the view screen.  
  
"They still use Warp?" Arentzen asked, a bit surprised that the Romulans didn't have a new method of travelling faster than light. Maros dismissed the question.  
  
"They are dropping out of Warp, Commander Maros!" Harris shouted over to Maros.  
  
Maros got up from his chair. "Shields up!" He shouted. Lieutenant Nolan quickly raised the shields of VICTORY. Maros tapped his comm-badge. "Maros to Captain West."  
  
"Yes Commander?" West replied.  
  
"You in position?"  
  
"Yes Commander, we are in position and ready to go." West's voice said.  
  
"Maros out." Maros tapped his comm-badge to end the conversation.  
  
"They are hailing us Commander." Harris informed her commander.  
  
"Onscreen." The screen flickered to show a Romulan who Maros presumed was the Romulan that Captain West had been referring to.  
  
"FEDERATION VESSEL! You are violating our space! Drop your shields and prepare to be boarded!" The Romulan ordered Maros.  
  
"I am Captain Maros of the USS VICTORY, we shall comply with your orders." The screen flickered again to show the Romulan ship. Big and green was the only way that Maros could describe it. Maros presumed that it was very powerful and Maros wasn't sure if VICTORY could beat it.  
  
Arentzen turned to Maros with a puzzled face. "Captain?"  
  
"Yes Lieutenant, Captain. Nolan, inform the Captain that everything is ready."  
  
Nolan turned to his communication device and contacted Transporter Room One. After a moment he turned back. "Their ready Commander."  
  
Arentzen had had enough. He got up from his chair. "What the hell is going on, Sir? Why are you pretending to be our Captain and why is our real Captain down in the transporter room?"  
  
Maros made eye contact with the helmsman and spoke to him in a very strong voice. "Sit down Lieutenant and prepare to do what I tell you." Arentzen sat down.  
  
The Romulan appeared on the screen again. "Drop your shields!" He yelled at Maros and then the signal was cut again. Maros signalled to Nolan to drop the shields.  
  
"Ready Sir" Nolan said to Maros. "Romulan transporter signal being detected in Transporter Room One captain!"  
  
Maros hit his Comm-badge. "Maros to West, NOW!"  
  
**********  
  
In the Transporter Room, West and Sennik stood on the Transporter Pad. A security team stood just in front of the transporter pad; phaser rifle's raised. West stood there awaiting Commander Maros' signal.  
  
"Captain, I must inform you that I am not very comfortable wearing a Romulan uniform." Sennik said to West.  
  
West laughed a bit. "I hope your Vulcan pride hasn't been damaged at all Sennik. You don't have to wear it for long anyway." Sennik was still not impressed.  
  
West's comm-badge beeped. "Maros to West, NOW!" West nodded quickly to the Transporter chief and then West and Sennik changed to beams of blue light as six beams of green light appeared on the pad. Sennik and West vanished just as the Romulans appeared. The security officers shot all six of the Romulans dead.  
  
**********  
  
"Their onboard the Romulan ship Commander!" Nolan shouted to Maros.  
  
Maros stood still. "Nolan, raise shields and fire transphasic phasers on each engine!"  
  
"Aye Commander." Nolan tapped a few controls on his panel and then looked up to Maros. "Their engines are down Sir!"  
  
Maros ran up to Arentzen's station. "Lieutenant, set course for Federation Space, and engage Quantum Slipstream Drive!" Maros ran back to his chair and sat down as the USS VICTORY entered a quantum slipstream.  
  
Maros sat in his chair regretting leaving Captain West behind, but that was what Captain West had told him to do.  
  
May the prophets be with you Captain West, Maros said to himself.  
  
**********  
  
Sennik and West appeared in a large and very dark cargo room on the Romulan vessel. West switched on the light that he wore on his forehead. A beam of light shot across the room. Sennik, who had no light, stayed close to Captain West.  
  
"This way Lieutenant." Tom said as he started to walk gently in one direction. Sennik followed the Captain's lead.  
  
They made their way out of the room. Tom opened a door and when it opened a beam of light shot into the cargo room and almost blinded Tom. "Aw, bloody hell! My eyes!"  
  
"Captain, I would strongly suggest that you keep you voice down." Sennik suggested to Tom, although it was actually an order. Tom stopped yelling and started to wipe his eyes. Sennik switched off the light on Tom's head and then she walked out of the cargo room; followed by West.  
  
They quietly made their way down one of the corridors. Tom, still blinking quite fast, looked at his tricorder. He pointed in a direction. "That way Lieutenant."  
  
They made their way down another corridor when they heard some Romulans talking. They quickly made their way back the way they had come. Tom and Sennik pushed their back up against a wall. The Romulans walked the other way.  
  
Tom signalled to Sennik to follow him down the corridor again. They quickly ran down the corridor. At the end of the corridor there was a junction, for better terms. Tom leaned his head around one corner and looked down each route.  
  
No Romulans.  
  
He looked down at his tricorder again, looking at a map of the ship and where they were on the ship. It didn't take long for him to work out which way they had to go.  
  
"Follow me Sennik."  
  
**********  
  
Maros sat in the Mess Hall eating a bagel. He couldn't believe he had actually given the order to leave Sennik and West behind. For what? So that the Federation can get some evidence and technology? That's all it was for in Maros' eyes. He knew there was more to it and that the mission Sennik and West were on at that very moment was arguably the most important mission they had been on up till now. But why did he have to leave them there? He could have disabled the Romulan vessel and just gone aboard and taken out the crew. But no, that wouldn't be the Starfleet thing to do would it? He just wished that he would actually get a mission on VICTORY that wouldn't have him regretting a decision at one point.  
  
he first time he had been left in command of VICTORY he lost his Captain, the Chief Tactical Officer was almost killed and Klingon rebels killed just over a dozen of VICTORY's crewmen ruthlessly. And oh yeh, he almost got the ship blown up.  
  
Now he was regretting leaving his Captain and the Science officer on a Romulan ship and in Romulan Space.  
  
He took bite from his bagel.  
  
He watched the other officers chatting to their friends while eating their food. They looked like they were having fun. Did they know that Captain West was gone?  
  
Am I making too big a deal of this?  
  
"Mind if I join you Sir?"  
  
Maros looked up to see Lieutenant Nolan standing beside him with a tray of food in his hands. "No, of course not Nolan. Have a seat." Nolan sat down opposite Maros. Hern took a small bite from his bagel. God, how much he liked Bagels.  
  
"What's troubling you Commander?" The tactical officer asked.  
  
Maros put down his bagel and looked at Nolan. "Of course something is troubling me. I left the Captain on a Romulan ship in Romulan space, for crying out loud." At that last sentence the whole Mess Hall went quieter. Maros looked around, the officers quickly started talking to each other again.  
  
"You know Commander, those were the Captains orders. Starfleet wanted him to do that and I don't actually think the Captain was going to turn his back on orders given to him by Starfleet." Nolan said to the Bajoran Commander sitting in front of him.  
  
Maros picked up his bagel again and took a bite from it. "Lieutenant, I know all of that but it wasn't the Captain who had to give the order to leave Romulan Space was it? That was what I had to do. I already seem to have lost Lieutenant Arentzen's trust, what about when the whole crew find out?" Maros finished his bagel and then wiped his mouth with a napkin.  
  
"Commander, if the crew find out you will just tell them about Starfleet's orders. And don't worry about Lieutenant Arentzen, he was just a little confused about what was going on. You really should lighten up on yourself, Sir." Nolan finished putting butter onto his bread role and then he took a huge bitte from the role. "You could always go against Starfleet's orders and go back for the Captain. But that would jeopardize the mission and could end up starting off a war."  
  
"I'm not going to go against my orders Lieutenant, I just don't agree with them." Hern got up from his chair. "Lieutenant, I'll be in my quarters should you need me." Nolan nodded once to the Commander and then Maros left the Mess Hall.  
  
**********  
  
Maros sat on the bed in his quarters. He knew that Nolan was trying to help him but there was nothing that anyone could do that would help him apart from leaving him alone.  
  
What would father say if he knew about the things I have had to do as Commander on this vessel? Would he say I am moaning about nothing? Would he be ashamed of the decisions I have made or the arguments I have with the Captain? Maros had always had his Dad's reputation resting on his shoulders. Maros was expected to go into politics but he knew that politics wasn't his thing. So he joined Starfleet. He wasn't the only one to do that. A lot of his friends on Bajor went to Starfleet Academy. Considering Bajor was now part of the Federation, Maros expected a lot more young Bajoran's to en-role in Starfleet Academy.  
  
Maros could remember what it was like on Bajor when they had just become members of the Federation. It was seen as a gift to Captain Benjamin Sisko - the Emissary, for giving up his own life to join the Prophet's in the holy temple. How else could the Bajoran's thank him but by joining the Federation, something that Sisko had strived towards in his time as Captain of Deep Space Nine.  
  
But all Bajoran's knew that Sisko hadn't given his life. He would return to the people of Bajor in the future, or even the past. One didn't know. He would return to be the emissary of the Bajoran people and live with his wife and two sons again.  
  
Jake Sisko - Maros was actually half way through one of his novels but had not had a chance to read it for days. Maros picked the pad off the small table that sat beside his bed. Maros thought about Benjamin Sisko again.  
  
Did he have any worries about joining the Prophets and leaving his family behind? Does he regret decisions he made?  
  
Maros tapped the pad a few times until it got to the part of the novel that he had read up to. He laid back on his bed and started to read Jake Sisko's novel.  
  
**********  
  
Tom held his tricorder next to a panel by the door leading into the Romulan ship's main computer room. The tricorder beeped and then the door opened.  
  
The room was empty. Tom had had no idea how easy it was to get around a Romulan ship. He knew that VICTORY was safe however. When he and Sennik had passed a room full of Romulans, he heard them talking about 'the federation vessel' crippling the engines and then escaping. Tom was relieved that Maros had actually done what was asked of him. Tom was used to Maros questioning his every order, but Maros always did as he was told.  
  
Sennik lead the way into the computer room. Tom quickly scanned the room again to make sure that he hadn't missed any Romulan's in the room. Tom walked up to the huge computer core that sat in the middle of the room. He searched for the terminal that he was looking for.  
  
He found it.  
  
"Sennik, over here." He signalled to the Vulcan to come over to him. Tom put his tricorder next to the terminal and then started tapping commands into his tricorder. The tricorder started to beep. "It will take a few minutes to find what we are looking for."  
  
"What exactly are we looking for Captain?" The Vulcan asked.  
  
"Well, if this ship was used in supplying the Klingon rebels with equipment, it will be recorded in the Computer memory. And also, It may have the data that the Klingons gave the Romulans concerning those Federation Outposts they attacked. Starfleet has heard that this ship is a proto-type warship for the Romulan Star Empire. Once we have the data we are to blow up the ship; after we have got back to VICTORY of course."  
  
Sennik looked down to a watch that Tom had told her to wear around her wrist. Crude things these Watches were but Sennik did find it useful. "VICTORY should be back here in 0900 hours. It would be sensible for us to return to the cargo bay once we have what we have come for."  
  
Tom turned back to his tricorder. "It's found the information. Starting to download it." Tom turned back to the Vulcan. He had to admire her beauty. She looked like someone in their twenties but Tom was well aware that in human years she was in her sixties. "Sennik, about what happened in the conference room. I had no idea that."  
  
The Vulcan turned away. "I would prefer it if you didn't talk about that at this time Captain."  
  
Tom kept quiet. He turned back to the tricorder. "Done, its has got everything we need."  
  
"And what exactly is it you need Human?"  
  
Tom spun around, startled by the voice. He was facing six Romulans. Five of whom were armed. Tom slowly and gently dropped his tricorder behind him and gently kicked it to the back of the room - an area that was shrouded in shadow.  
  
"Take him to the cells." The Romulan said to his men. The men quickly ran up to Tom and grabbed hold of him. He quickly looked around the room in search of Sennik - she was nowhere to be seen. The Romulan's dragged him out of the room and then he was followed out by the Romulan commander.  
  
**********  
  
Sennik stayed silent for a further two minutes after the last Romulan had left the room. She had hidden in the shadows at the back of the room. The tricorder that Captain West had kicked into the shadows had hit her in the knee. She had moved it straightaway. It was not Vulcan custom to hide, but Captain West had told her that he didn't want this mission to go wrong and that one of them had to complete the mission. Could she have warned him that there was Romulan's entering the room? She did not have enough time to think about all of that. She had to complete the mission. She looked at the data stored on the tricorder quickly and then made her way out of the room.  
  
She made her way back to the cargo bay, as that was where VICTORY were to beam them back from, but she felt she should go back for Captain West. She had to get the tricorder back to the cargo bay safely though before she could launch a rescue operation.  
  
**********  
  
"BEEP" The noise of someone at the doors of his quarters spread around Maros' room. He quickly woke up.  
  
"Enter!" He said, regaining his senses. The door opened and his quarters filled with the light from the corridor just outside. Lieutenant Nolan stood in the doorway. "What is it Lieutenant?" Maros asked the human.  
  
Nolan stepped into the room. I have tactical reports for you Sir. And I also thought I would tell you that we need to be back in Romulan space in 0700 hours." Nolan handed the tactical reports to Maros. Maros put them on his bedside table. He got up and went into his bathroom. Nolan stayed in the main room. "Commander, may I suggest that you come up to the bridge?"  
  
Maros splashed some water onto his face and then walked back into the main room of his quarters. "Um, Yes I will come up with you. You going up now?"  
  
"Yes Commander."  
  
"OK, lets go then." Maros said as he made his way out of his quarters. Nolan was right behind him.  
  
They walked towards the turbo-lift.  
  
"You have a plan on how we are going to get him back aboard? I doubt the Romulan's will fall for our surrender act again. And I am betting that they have changed their shield frequencies by now as well." Nolan said to Maros as they walked down the corridor.  
  
Maros keeping up the pace, thought about the question. "All we have to do is get their shields down so that we can beam Captain West and Lieutenant Sennik aboard. How we are going to do that is the big question. Their ship is bigger than ours and very powerful."  
  
Nolan stopped. "I have an idea about boosting our strength commander but I don't know if I can get it done in seven hours. It would usually take at least a day to fit them, let alone get them integrated into the ships systems and get them up and working."  
  
Maros looked at Nolan curiously. "What new weapons?"  
  
Nolan grinned, "Torpedo cannons, Sir."  
  
**********  
  
Sennik slowly sneaked down a corridor that her tricorder told her lead to the weapons room on the ship. She had gone against her Vulcan logic and decided not to go to the cargo bay. She wanted to rescue the Captain first.  
  
She walked into the weapons room when a Romulan called after her; he followed her into the weapons room.  
  
"HALT! Do you have permission to be here?" The Romulan asked Sennik.  
  
She turned to face him. "Yes, the Commander wants me to issue weapons to all ranking officers on this vessel. He does not want any more Humans sneaking around the ship." She looked at the Romulan. Romulan's disgusted Vulcan's. They had no logic. They were a lower bread of Vulcan; that's how Vulcan's looked them upon anyway.  
  
The Romulan put his weapon back down at his side. "Very well, we do not want any Humans ruining the Commanders plans." The Romulan left the room.  
  
Once the doors were closed Sennik equipped herself with a Romulan disrupter and then she carefully sneaked out of the room. Now she had to stay low for the next few hours.  
  
**********  
  
Tom was chained against a wall. He found it hard to believe that he had gotten himself captured again. He could feel some sort of hatred towards the Romulan commander - he didn't know why, but he knew that he hated him.  
  
The Romulan commander walked back and forth past Tom West. "What were you looking for Human? Why were you on my ship and why did your Captain bring his vessel into Romulan Space?"  
  
Captain? Tom realised who the Romulan was referring to. I guess that Commander Maros pulled it off then, he thought to himself.  
  
"Answer me!" The Romulan screamed at him.  
  
Tom was not about to give in to a damn Romulan. "There's about as much chance of me telling you what you want to know as there is of you licking your ass. But then again, you probably do that don't you!" Tom said, sarcastically.  
  
The Romulan Commander slapped Tom across the face. A Romulan ran into the room and quietly whispered something to the Romulan Commander. The Commander turned back to Tom West. "It appears you're not the only spy on our ship, Human. A Vulcan posing as a Romulan? Did you honestly believe we would fall for that? I bet that she is running for her life from our guards at this very moment."  
  
**********  
  
Sennik knelt in the shadows of a corridor. She was very aware that the Romulan's now knew of her. Her Romulan disguise hadn't really fooled them for long but so far any passing Romulan's had not discovered her.  
  
She hadn't had anything to do since she got her weapon. She found the shadows and had been in them for three hours. She had a plan but it could not be put into motion until VICTORY arrived.  
  
Sennik had every belief that VICTORY would return but was she certain it could survive a firefight with this Romulan vessel? No, she wasn't certain, but she had served under Commander Maros in battle and knew that he was more than capable of defeating the odds. He was a very competent officer who Sennik believed would go on to become a leading Starfleet Officer.  
  
Sennik looked at her watch; only three hours until VICTORY would arrive.  
  
**********  
  
Outside of VICTORY, Lieutenant's Nolan and Farnworth were standing on the bottom half of the saucer section to the vessel.  
  
"You know, Humans have been in space for centuries now and yet we still can't come up with a comfortable space suit." Lieutenant Farnworth said to Nolan as they started to walk away from the torpedo cannon they had just installed.  
  
"You shouldn't really be thinking about that right now Lieutenant, you should be worrying more about whether or not we are going to get this new cannon working in time." Nolan said to Farnworth.  
  
"Working in time for what exactly? No one has told me why we are putting these new weapons on the ship." Farnworth asked. He hadn't been told about any of the orders that VICTORY was working under or that Captain West and Sennik were not onboard the vessel.  
  
"Well Lieutenant, we are launching a rescue operation for Captain West and Lieutenant Sennik and we need some extra fire power so we are installing one of these torpedo cannons. They fire out torpedo's a lot faster than what our torpedo bay can." Nolan replied. They carried on walking across the saucer section.  
  
"The Captain has been captured again? God almighty, he must hate being in command of this ship."  
  
Nolan grinned, "Not exactly Lieutenant. His orders were to beam aboard a Romulan vessel. And now we have to go back and get him in three hours."  
  
"Three hours! You want this cannon working in three hours? That's preposterous. They'll never be fully operational by then." Farnworth was a bit mad he hadn't been told any of this. Did Captain West not trust him enough?  
  
"Look Lieutenant, they don't have to be fully operational, we just need them working for a few minutes. Once we have got the shields down on that Romulan ship we wont need them anymore." H stood still, staring at Farnworth. "You know, I can't be bothered to walk all the way back, lets catch a lift." Nolan pressed a button on his space suit. "Lieutenant Nolan to transporter room one, beam us into engineering."  
  
A voice of a human male replied, "In your suits, Sir?"  
  
"Yes, in our suits. Just hurry up, we don't have much time Ensign."  
  
The two officers changed to bright blue beams of light and then were gone. Only the star ship VICTORY sat in space.  
  
**********  
  
"Tell me what you are doing here!" The Romulan Commander screamed at Tom. The Commander had returned around an hour after he had left and had been asking Tom the same questions since.  
  
"I am not telling you shit!" Tom shouted back at him. The Romulan signalled to one of his men. The guard then left the room.  
  
"I am aware that you are Captain Tom West, I can't believe I actually fell for your Commander's trick. I should have recognised the name of the ship really, considering it was I who told Kartolk of you vessel and crew."  
  
Tom had just heard what he had wanted to hear for weeks; proof that Romulans were supplying Klingon rebels with information and equipment. "So it was you helping Kartolk. I should have known. One prick helping another, it all makes sense."  
  
The Romulan punched him in the gut. Tom fell against the wall struggling for air.  
  
"Yes, it was I helping Kartolk. It's a pity that you killed him, I had never had a Klingon working for me before."  
  
Tom managed to return to normal breathing. "Working for you? I was under the impression that you were both just helping each other out."  
  
The Romulan grinned. "No no, he was working for me. Well, I might as well tell you, its not like you are going to be able to escape this ship."  
  
Tom grinned; obviously this Romulan didn't know all the facts.  
  
"You see," he continued, "if he attacked certain Federation Scientific Outposts, his payment would be weapons, ship designs, food, etc, for the Klingon rebels. So as you can see, he was working for me."  
  
"Why did you want Federation Outposts attacked? We had done nothing to make an enemy of you. What information did you steal from those stations." Tom asked, everything was coming together now.  
  
"Why? Well, new weapon designs, plans for a power source that would last indefinitely. Many reasons Captain." The Romulan spoke as if he was above Tom, something that Tom hated. As much as Tom had been taught over the years to trust different life forms, he could not bring himself to trust a Romulan. He knew they would stab you in the back if it benefited them.  
  
"But why did you want all that information?" Tom asked.  
  
"Power of course. With all that information I could make myself ruler of Romulus and then make the Romulan Empire the most powerful race in the Alpha Quadrant. Its all about power Human."  
  
"Not always, Romulan" Tom replied.  
  
The Romulan took a step back. "You must be fooling yourself. The Federation consists of many worlds does it not? And yet it is always Humans in control of the Federation? Is that not power? Captain, we all endeavour power, just in different ways. I am endeavouring power by using force; Humans seek their power through politics. In the end its all about power."  
  
"Your wrong. We do not seek power, we seek peace." Tom felt like he was defending humans at this moment.  
  
"Is that not a quest for power? You make peace, but you become the overseers of that peace; making yourselves more powerful than the people who you are watching over." The Romulan spoke like a philosopher. His beliefs made him a dangerous man; Tom knew that.  
  
"If we did not oversee peace, how else would we keep it? We do not want power over every other race. We want peace. Why else would the Federation have been in so many brutal wars; we fight to keep peace."  
  
"You wrong Human, you fight for your own survival, so that you can keep your own power and stop who ever it is that threatens your power. From my studies of Earths history, I have seen what humans were like and what they will always be like - self-centred life forms who want to be above others. Humans have always forced others to follow their beliefs. Now it is so- called peace that you strive for. Have you not thought about the fact that perhaps the universe was a better place without the Federation?"  
  
"Your species are responsible for the Federation being set up in the first place. Had you not silently been attacking Earth ships there would never have been a war between Earth and the Romulans. You were just seeking power, like your race always has. Just face it; your race is a has-been." Tom felt his un-easiness for Romulans starting to take over his mind.  
  
"You speak rubbish." The Romulan replied.  
  
"Commander Farh." The Romulan guard had returned. He passed something to the Commander, Farh, which Tom could not make out. The Romulan then returned to guard the door.  
  
"Captain West, from what Kartolk told me you should recognise what I hold behind my back." The Romulan grinned at then showed the item to Tom. It was something that Tom did not expect to have to see again. It was silver, with odd shaped pieces of sharp metal coming off it, and a handle. It was an Arel'Taar, the object that Kartolk had used to torture Tom when he was a hostage on Kartolk's warship.  
  
"One last time Captain, why are you on my ship?"  
  
**********  
  
"All ready Commander!" Lieutenant Nolan shouted to Commander Maros who sat in his command chair. Lieutenant Farnworth stood up and then packed up his tools.  
  
"Ye' know Commander, they may conk out on ye' as soon as you switch em' on. Are ye' willing to risk that?" The Scottish chief of engineering asked.  
  
Maros sat back in his chair. "Yes I am Lieutenant, now you should get down to engineering because you are going to be needed down there once the fighting starts." Lieutenant Farnworth left the Bridge and the Nolan took his station. "Lieutenant Arentzen, do you have a lock on that ship?"  
  
"Yes Commander." The helmsman replied.  
  
"Very good, engage Quantum Slipstream drive." The Bajoran ordered.  
  
"Yes, Sir. Engaging Quantum Slipstream Drive. Eleven minutes until we catch up with it Sir."  
  
"Lieutenant Nolan, make sure those weapons are working."  
  
"I am Sir, I am." The Tactical officer replied.  
  
**********  
  
Tom felt anger fill up within him once he saw the Arel'Taar. It had been responsible for so much pain with him. He almost died from being tortured with it. And it was about to happen again.  
  
"I am not telling you that." Tom replied.  
  
"Well, perhaps this Arel'Taar will make you." Farh moved closer to Tom and started to squeeze the handle. The metal blades started to rotate with small bolts of electricity coming off them. As Farh got closer to Tom the alarms on the ship sounded. Loud noises filled the ship. Farh walked up to a communication device that was on the wall just out side the cell. "Farh here. What is going on?"  
  
A voice came beaming through the communication device. "Commander, a Federation vessel is approaching us, fast!"  
  
"Are they using their Slipstream device?" Commander Farh asked.  
  
"Yes Commander."  
  
"I'll be there right away." Farh gave the Arel'Taar to one of his men and then disappeared.  
  
**********  
  
Sennik still sat in the shadows awaiting the sign that it was time for her to launch her rescue attempt of Captain West. As a Vulcan, she didn't feel right sitting in the shadows waiting for the right moment to strike. Although, she was a Starfleet officer and that above all else mattered most. She found it curious that she had not been discovered. She had been in the same place for hours and yet no Romulan had found her. It was awfully odd that the Romulans hadn't discovered her in that time.  
  
She sat down contemplating what she would do when she got back to VICTORY. Would she take up the Captains offer and go back to Vulcan for a few weeks? Should she remain onboard VICTORY and attempt to solve her problems on her own? Sennik just wasn't sure. She decided she would make a decision once she had returned to VICTORY.  
  
Loud sirens went off on the ship. It was time for her to go and save the Captain. She stood up and made sure that she had the tricorder with her. She then raised her weapon made her way towards the holding cells.  
  
"Dis-engaging Quantum Slipstream Drive Commander." Lieutenant Arentzen shouted.  
  
It was time. No turning back. This was either going to work or end with lots of casualties. "Raise shields! Power up weapons! Put torpedo cannons on standby!" He shouted to Lieutenant Nolan.  
  
"Done Sir!" Nolan shouted back a few seconds later.  
  
"Put their ship on-screen Ensign Harris." Maros ordered the young women.  
  
"Aye sir." The screen flickered to show the large and powerful green ship.  
  
"Do you have their signals?" Maros asked Ensign Harris.  
  
"No Sir." Harris replied.  
  
Why aren't they in position? The bridge shook. Maros turned to Nolan. "Fire Transphasic Phasers Lieutenant!"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
**********  
  
Tom sat on the floor. Three guards stood in the room with him. The doors to the room opened. Three green beams shot across the room and then the Romulan guards fell to the floor. Sennik stepped over the bodies of the Romulans and picked up the keys for Captain West's chains, which one of the guards must have dropped. She unlocked the chains and helped Tom to his feet.  
  
Tom had cuts all over his face and it appeared to Sennik that he must have had bruised, or maybe even broken, ribs because he did not want her to put her arms around his ribs when she was helping him up.  
  
"We should go to the Cargo Bay Captain. Commander Maros will not be able to transport us off this vessel otherwise." Sennik suggested to her Captain. Tom nodded and then she helped him walk out of the room.  
  
**********  
  
"Shields falling Sir!" Nolan yelled out to Commander Maros who sat in one of the chairs in front of his station.  
  
"Engage Torpedo Cannon Lieutenant!" Maros ordered the Lieutenant as he struggled to stay in his chair due to the shaking of the Bridge.  
  
Nolan looked down to his station and tapped controls on it. "Done Sir, Torpedo Cannon operational!"  
  
The ship started to shake. "Lieutenant?" Maros asked the tactical officer.  
  
"I.I don't know Sir. We did have to install them faster than usual you know! Maybe we didn't install it into ships systems correctly."  
  
Maros grabbed onto either side of his chair trying to keep himself up. The ship kept shaking. "As long as it does the job, I don't care about the shaking."  
  
**********  
  
Sennik and Captain West made their way down the corridor that lead to the cargo bay that they needed to get to. Three Romulans ran at them. Sennik quickly shot them down.  
  
Sennik opened the door to the cargo bay and then she helped Tom into the room. She pulled the comm-badge out from her pocket.  
  
**********  
  
"Where the hell is it?" Maros asked, not aiming his question at anyone in particular.  
  
"Its not on sensors Sir!" Harris replied.  
  
"It must be cloaked Commander." Nolan said to Maros.  
  
"Can't we detect cloaked Romulan ships?" Maros asked.  
  
"Obviously not this one Commander." Nolan replied, sounding a bit sarcastic.  
  
Harris quickly looked over to Maros. "Commander Maros, Lieutenant Sennik is trying to contact us."  
  
Maros shot up from his chair and ran over to the ensign. "Well don't just stand there, put her on audio." The ensign tapped one of her consoles and then the bridge filled up with Sennik's voice.  
  
"Lieutenant Sennik to VICTORY, please respond."  
  
"VICTORY here. I presume you're in the cargo bay." Maros said.  
  
"You would presume right Commander. You can now beam us aboard VICTORY." Sennik told the Commander.  
  
"Um, we have a problem Sennik. They have engaged their cloaking device. We can't pick up your life sign to beam you aboard until they have de- cloaked."  
  
**********  
  
"I shall try Commander. Sennik out." The Vulcan put her comm-badge back in her pocket. "Captain, I must go and disengage this vessels cloaking device. Commander Maros cannot transport us aboard VICTORY until this vessel de-cloaks."  
  
Tom got to his feet. "You stay here. I'll go and deactivate it."  
  
Sennik shook her head. "That would not be wise Captain. You have injuries. It would be more logical for myself to try and deactivate the cloaking devise."  
  
"I'm giving you an order Lieutenant!" Tom shouted at her. The Vulcan gave in. She passed her weapon to Tom.  
  
"Do you know where the main engineering room is on this vessel?" Sennik asked Tom.  
  
"I think I remember. Once I have deactivated the cloak, beam back to VICTORY. I will get back here as soon as I can."  
  
"Yes Captain." Sennik said.  
  
Tom moved out of the room as fast as he could.  
  
**********  
  
His ribs hurt when he ran but he had to put up with the pain. Yes it would have been more logical to let Sennik do this job but as Captain he was not going to sit back and let his Lieutenant do the hard stuff - it wasn't his style.  
  
He ran down a corridor. It must have been five minutes since he left Sennik, he could swear that he was near Engineering. He ran into a large room.  
  
Engineering.  
  
The Romulans turned around startled and started to run towards them. Tom shot them all dead.  
  
He ran up to a computer that he was sure was the cloaking device controls and started to tap commands into it. He wasn't great at reading Romulan but he understood much of what the computer terminal read.  
  
**********  
  
"Commander, the Romulan ship is de-cloaking!" Ensign Harris yelled very loud to Maros.  
  
"Nolan, Engage the cannon!" Maros shouted to the Lieutenant. A moment later the ship started to shake again. "Ensign Harris, beam to transporter room one!"  
  
"Yes Commander!" Ensign Harris tapped commands into her console and a few seconds later looked back to Maros. "Done Sir."  
  
"You get them both?" Nolan asked the Ensign.  
  
"No. Only Lieutenant Sennik was in that cargo bay." Ensign Harris said, as if she was telling a family that their father had just died.  
  
Maros sat back in his chair. Where are you Captain?  
  
"Um, Commander, I don't want to add salt to your wound, but the cargo bay has just blown up."  
  
"Can we get him aboard from wherever he is now?" Maros asked.  
  
"Not until we get their shields down."  
  
**********  
  
"Computer, where is the Transporter Room located?" West asked the Romulan computer. A map came up on the screen. The closest transporter room was on the other side of the deck.  
  
Tom ran over to a computer. "Computer, set auto-destruct."  
  
The computer voice replied, the voice was not a very nice voice at all. "Please give the codename."  
  
Codename? Tom thought about what could be the codename. He thought over everything that Farh had said to him in the cell. "Endeavouring Power?"  
  
"Please specify time until autodestruct." The codename was right. Tom wondered why the bad guys always had codes that were so easy to crack.  
  
"Five minutes."  
  
"Auto-destruct set. Five minutes until auto-destruct."  
  
Tom stepped back from the console and raised his disruptor. He shot the console, disabling it from being used again - and stopping anyone from stopping the autodestruct. Tom ran out of Engineering and started to make his way to the transporter room.  
  
**********  
  
"Commander, the self-destruct sequence has been initiated!" A Romulan shouted across the bridge of the Romulan warship.  
  
Farh turned around to face the officer straightaway. He was puzzled. "Who?"  
  
The Romulan looked just as puzzled. "I do not know Commander. I can not stop it, this ship will explode in five minutes!"  
  
Farh made his way off the Bridge; he had a feeling that Captain West was responsible. Farh was headed for Engineering.  
  
Moments after Farh had left, the Bridge exploded.  
  
**********  
  
"Got him yet?" Maros asked Ensign Harris. The ship kept shaking from the recoil of the torpedo cannons.  
  
"Not yet Sir!" Harris shouted as she was thrown away from her console by an explosion.  
  
Nolan face lit up. He quickly checked his scans again. "Commander, the Bridge of their ship has been destroyed and they can't fire at us. And their shields have just gone down!"  
  
Maros leapt from his chair and took a few steps forward towards the view screen. "Dis-engage the torpedo cannon Nolan!"  
  
"Aye, Sir! Dis-engaging cannon." Nolan replied. He tapped a button and then the Bridge fell into blackness.  
  
Maros spun around to the tactical officer. Maros just about make out Nolan's face. "Nolan, what the hell happened?"  
  
"I think that when I dis-engaged the torpedo cannon it shut down all power on our ship." Nolan said. He couldn't believe the timing.  
  
"The transporter?" Maros asked urgently to Ensign Harris.  
  
"Down Commander." She replied, as if she had just told someone that their parents had died.  
  
**********  
  
Tom ran down a corridor leading to the transporter room. He had passed several Romulans but they were all too worried about their own lives than to bother giving chase. Tom could feel the temperature rising on the ship. I guess this is how Romulan ships self destruct, he thought to himself. He looked down at the floor as he ran down the corridor. He could see flames on the decks below. He guessed that the self-destruct on this ship took out one deck at a time before destroying the ship properly.  
  
He spun around a corner so fast that he almost tripped over. Surprisingly there were no Romulans to be seen. He sprinted down the hall. From his calculations he had two minutes and a half to get off the ship, otherwise he would get blown up along with everyone else on the ship.  
  
As he ran down the corridor a green beam shot past him, just about missing his head. Tom tried to keep his balance but he tripped over due to his speed. He rolled across the floor.  
  
The disruptor fire stopped. Tom attempted to get to his feet but was kicked in the face when he tried. He fell onto his back. Tom looked up to see the face of his attacker - Commander Farh.  
  
"You! You have ruined everything! Oh how you will pay for this." The Romulan shouted at him as he kicked Captain West in his bruised ribs. Tom screamed with pain.  
  
Tom gained enough energy to kick Farh's ankles. The Romulan fell to the ground. Tom got to his feet and started to slowly run down the corridor. He held his ribs; the pain was unbearable.  
  
Green beams shot past Tom again. He picked up speed and ran around the next corner. The temperature was rising even higher now. From what Tom could see, there were no longer any decks below; just fire. The floor was starting to get very hot and Tom could feel the heat coming through his boots.  
  
Tom could now see the transporter room. He started to run faster but Farh leaped onto his back. They both fell to the ground. The floor started to burn Tom's skin. He tried to get up but Farh was on top of him.  
  
Both men heard a creaking sound. They both stayed still. All of a sudden the floor plating broke on one side and fell through. One side - the side that Tom needed to get to, only held it up.  
  
Tom hung onto the floor for his life and Farh held onto his feet. Tom's hands were burning from the heat of the floor. He wouldn't be able to hold on much longer with the pain. Flames rose up to Farh's boots. He tried to kick them away but obviously to know prevail.  
  
Tom was ready to let go. He thought of his children; his ex-wife; his ship; his crew. In his head he said goodbye to it all. He left go.  
  
Just as Tom let go of the floor plating he was engulfed by green lights and then vanished. Farh fell into the flames below and perished - on his own.  
  
**********  
  
Tom's molecules rejoined to form his body. He opened his eyes. An ugly Klingon looked down at him.  
  
"Granolk?" Tom whispered, still feeling all of his burns.  
  
"Yes Captain West, it is I, Granolk." The Klingon replied. Granolk helped Tom stand up.  
  
"But how?" Tom asked, still not believing his luck.  
  
"Lets just say that our debt was called in." The Klingon said, grinning. Tom had forgotten how ugly Klingons could actually be.  
  
**********  
  
The Klingon ship locked a tractor beam on VICTORY and pulled it away just as the Romulan ship exploded.  
  
**********  
  
Captain's Log: We have completed repairs to VICTORY and are now on our way to Starbase 43 for our Torpedo Cannons to be installed properly. We have the data that proves Romulan involvement in the Klingon Civil War but from what Sennik has looked over, only Farh and his men were involved; not the Romulan Star Empire. After giving copies of this data to Granolk the Klingons have stopped their attacks on Romulan ships and so for the time being all is calm. But despite this, I do not feel that this saga is over.  
  
Sennik was right, I did have a personal interest in this mission. When Commander Farh openly admitted helping Kartolk I felt so much rage. I wanted to rip those pointy ears off that pompous Romulan's head. At least I know he is dead now. But I still do not believe that this is the end of the threat. A threat that could change to war if not dealed with appropriately.  
  
**********  
  
Maros and West walked down the corridor that lead to the Mess Hall. They had spoken about the mission and how it had gone wrong in the end. They had spoken about where they think Starfleet will send them next.  
  
"You followed my orders Commander, orders which not all Commanders could follow. I must admit, I thought you would end up trying to get Sennik and me off that ship as soon as we beamed aboard. But you didn't, and I commend you for that." Tom said to the Commander as they strolled down the corridor. Tom nodded to fellow officers as they pass.  
  
"Well I can't say that I didn't think about coming back straightaway, who wouldn't?" Maros replied.  
  
"But in the end you followed my orders Commander. Someday you will make a great Starfleet Captain, that I am sure of. It may happen sooner than you think if you keep up the good work. Everyone knows that Starfleet are looking for new Captain's. If you keep up the good work you could be one of them."  
  
Maros smiled, "I can only hope Sir." And then they both walked into the Mess Hall. 


End file.
